Hundreds of Birmingham families are being transformed into masterchefs in a bid to tackle the city’s obesity epidemic.

And Cabinet member for Health and Wellbeing, Cllr Steve Bedser, has hailed the Cooking With Your Kids initiative a huge success.

Over 70 Cooking With Your Kids courses (reaching around 450 families) are run each year by Birmingham’s Food Net in Schools (part of Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust)

The courses, developed following the success of a healthy eating course with community groups, are run in Birmingham schools, where parents work alongside their children to make and taste healthy dishes, while learning food facts.

Participants report a number of positive results, including:

• Eating increased number of fruit and veg portions each day
• Increased awareness of what goes into processed food, ready meals etc
• Eating fewer takeaways
• Drinking less fizzy drinks.
• Reduction in intake of fatty and salty foods
• Cooking more meals from scratch – eating fewer ready meals.
• Adults and children being more adventurous – trying new foods.

Cllr Bedser, said: “The feedback from the Cooking With Your Kids initiative is extremely encouraging and shows what can be achieved with the right approach.

“Nobody is underestimating the scale of the obesity challenge but we can begin to tackle this complex issue, if we give people the skills and the knowledge needed to adopt a healthier lifestyle.”

Dr Adrian Phillips added: “The horse meat scandal has made us all think more about what goes into processed foods and it’s clear that unless parents understand food labels, they cannot make good choices for themselves and their children. We commission courses such as Cooking with your Kids as we believe that improved food skills can contribute to the battle against obesity.”

Outcomes based on the following three questions (info collected at first and last sessions of 5 session course):

• Measured by self reported fruit and vegetable intake the previous day
• Self reported takeaway score ranging from “never” to “2+ a day”
• Self reported fizzy drink consumption recording the amount of millilitres drunk per week by family.
• Average increase in adult fruit and veg portions per day of 1.4 portions
• Average child increase in fruit and veg intake of 1 portions
• Average decrease in family takeaway portion per week of  0.6 portions
• Average decrease in family consumption of fizzy drinks per week (ml) of 1540 ml

Selected comments from participants:

What lessons do you take from the course?

• We have learnt about fats and my daughter has changed her attitude towards food and will try different things. We can cook now with confidence
• My daughter has learnt how to use a knife and cut the correct way.
• She has also learnt that she enjoys learning about food and its impact on our bodies
• I have learnt a lot about how to add more fruit and veg into everyday meal.
• We have learnt to include more fruit and veg into our daily food intake.
• We have also been encouraged to consider our daily intake of fat and salt.

What do you cook/buy/ eat now that you didn’t before?

• My children will now eat vegetable lasagne! They are keener to eat vegetables
• I’ve also been keen to get my children to try the recipes we have made because they are engaged in cooking it, they are happier to try the foods.
• I buy more fruit and vegetables now than I used to and try to incorporate them into the daily routine.
• I have also started cooking more with the children and making things from fresh.
• I now cook a lot of meals from scratch rather than convenience food
• We have made the spag bol recipe and will definitely be using that instead of a jar of sauce.

What have you changed in your and your family’s lifestyle?

• Adding more vegetables to my cooking. Looking for healthier alternatives.
• I’ve got into habit now of encouraging my children to have fruit instead of having chocolate bars. I myself have broken my habit of fizzy pops. I’ve been used to drinking a bottle a day, but over the last 3 weeks I have cut down to around 3 bottles in 3 weeks.
• I will try and add more veg to our meals. I have learnt all about different amounts of fat as a result I have changed how many times we have a takeaway
• I will also be drinking more fluids and making sure the children do too.
• I have been cooking more fresh meals and getting the children to help.

ENDS

For further information contact Geoff Coleman on 0121 303 3501

A new strategy addressing the needs of adults with Autism in the city of Birmingham was launched on World Autism Awareness Day – 2nd April 2013.

The strategy has been developed following the Autism Act of 2009 and the National Strategy ‘Rewarding and Fulfilling Lives’ which were brought in by the Government in response to an identified gap in provision for adults. This strategy has been supported by a Birmingham-wide Joint Strategic Needs Assessment completed in 2012.

You can take part in the Autism Strategy consultation here: https://www.birminghambeheard.org.uk/adults-communities/www-birminghamcitycouncil

This Strategy sets out the vision for supporting the 10-20,000 adults with Autism in the city, clearly defining that adults with Autism, whatever their age, should have the same opportunities as anyone else to live “rewarding and fulfilling lives”.

Developed in partnership with Adults with Autism, Parents, Voluntary Organisations, Charities, West Midlands Police, NHS, Autism West Midlands and the Local Authority, the strategy has a clear aim to improve the lives of those living with autism, and to deliver on six key areas :

• Raising awareness & improving training for professionals
• Improving diagnosis through implementing clearer pathways
• Improving opportunities for employment and education
• Improving access to services
• Improving transitions from childhood
• Improving interactions with the Criminal Justice System

Councillor Steve Bedser, Cabinet Member for Health & Wellbeing comments: “This strategy represents a major step forward in terms of support and care for people across the city living with Autism.

“We’ve worked very closely with partners to develop the strategy and I’m confident we now have a framework to support the thousands of adults with Autism in Birmingham.”

Dr Ashok Roy, Chair Birmingham Partnership Autism Board comments: “Autism affects between 10-20,000 people in Birmingham, and this strategy is needed to ensure that we are supporting adults and their families living with the issues surrounding autism. This is the first step towards delivering a comprehensive strategy where all partners can work together to achieve greater support and care for those living with Autism.”

You can take part in the Autism Strategy consultation here: https://www.birminghambeheard.org.uk/adults-communities/www-birminghamcitycouncil

Ends

About Autism

• Autism is a life-long condition affecting around 1.1% of the population. It affects all races, classes and intellectual abilities. It is a spectrum condition meaning that it affects people differently and to varying degrees.
• Everyone with autism is different. Whilst some people with autism lead independent lives, some need lifelong care. Others will need some degree of support, which will change over the course of their lifetime.
• Autism is not a learning disability – about half of all people with autism have average or above-average intelligence – or a mental illness. However, one in three people with autism develop mental health difficulties due to the challenge of adapting to society with inadequate support.
• People with autism often also have issues with sensory processing. They can either be over- or under-sensitive to any of their senses (sight, smell, touch, hearing, taste, balance and awareness of self in space).
• There is no cure for autism but early diagnosis and specialist support can greatly improve the quality of life of people with autism.
• Autism is a hidden condition, meaning that it is often difficult to tell that someone has autism. Lack of autism awareness can lead to misunderstandings about the reasons that a person with autism may behave in a certain way. This can sometimes increase anxiety and depression in people with autism. Increasing autism awareness is key to ensuring that people with autism receive the right support and understanding throughout life.

About Autism West Midlands

• Autism West Midlands is the leading charity in the West Midlands for people affected by autism. The charity exists to enable all people with autism, and those who love and care for them, to lead fulfilling and rewarding lives.
• Their passionate, expert staff and volunteers work across all age groups and abilities to provide direct support to people affected by autism.
• Autism West Midlands supports people with autism to live as independently as possible, in residential care, or in their own or the family home. The charity provide activities, events and support for families, and an information helpline. They help people with autism to find and keep a job and offer training for parents of children with autism, and for the professionals who help them.

Cllr John Cotton has warned welfare reforms and the controversial ‘bedroom tax’ will hugely increase the demands on the food banks currently springing up across Birmingham.

The Cabinet member for Social Cohesion and Equalities is currently mapping the city’s food banks to help co-ordinate a response to upcoming welfare reforms.

And, speaking as he opened three new food bins at Birmingham City Council’s Woodcock Street offices, Cllr Cotton said: “I think it’s a sad reflection of the kinds of pressures that the people of Birmingham are facing as a result of welfare reform, spending cuts and the general economic situation that more and more of our fellow citizens are turning to food banks for vital help.

“There’s some fantastic work going on right across the city, from voluntary organisations, faith organisations and community activists who are coming together to help support vulnerable people here in Birmingham.

“As a council we’re committed to tackling inequality and poverty and continue to work closely with those organisations that are helping to provide a safety net for many of the most vulnerable people across the city. We’re really lucky in Birmingham that we have people who do this work day in and day out.

“But figures released just last week showed almost half of our inner-city children are living below the poverty line and sadly I think national government cuts and welfare reforms mean things are set to get much worse for many people across Birmingham.

“The challenge for the council and its partners is a big one and I have to pay tribute to the people and organisations that establish and run food banks. Between us we’re doing all we can to mitigate the impact of these changes on the poorest families.”

Food collected at Woodcock Street will be taken by the Salvation Army to the Birmingham Central Foodbank to be distributed to families and individuals across the city.

Major Steve White, leader of the Birmingham Citadel Salvation Army, added: “People are having to choose between putting food on the table or clothes on the backs of their children and for many people these are very, very difficult times.

“We want to endorse the fact that Birmingham Central Foodbank has been doing vital work for 12 months and we’re happy to work with the Food Bank and Birmingham City Council.”

ENDS

Photographs are available to download here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/birminghamnewsroom/sets/72157632863885634/

Birmingham Central Foodbank: http://birminghamcentral.foodbank.org.uk/

For more information contact Geoff Coleman on 0121 303 3501

Birmingham City Council, John Lewis and Network Rail have signed a Jobs and Skills Charter today which will help local people access more than 1,000 new jobs created by the development of the new Grand Central Birmingham shopping centre and Birmingham New Street station.

The Charter sets out how the organisations will ensure Birmingham’s diverse community, including young unemployed people, have access to the opportunities being created by the development in the city centre which will be anchored by a 250,000 sq ft John Lewis shop due to open in Autumn 2014, providing three-quarters of the 1,000 jobs available.

Working with local colleges and universities, training providers as well as specialist agencies including Jobcentre Plus, the Skills Funding Agency and National Apprenticeship Service to ensure skills, training and access are a top priority is the key commitment within the Charter. The overall aim is to support the growth of Birmingham as a world class destination, offering a quality experience at Grand Central and New Street station that delights customers, residents and visitors.

Sir Albert Bore, Leader of Birmingham City Council said “This is another illustration of our commitment to helping local people into work. I am delighted that John Lewis and Network Rail have signed up to working with us to provide an opportunity for our priority groups to access the new jobs which are arising out of this investment.”

Andy Street, Managing Director of John Lewis said “Our aim as an employer is to reflect the community in which we trade and I am delighted to sign this Charter, which underlines our commitment to providing local jobs for local people. We want to ensure that the opportunities created by the new Grand Central development are accessible to all and benefit Birmingham and we look forward to welcoming new Partners into our business.”

Dyan Crowther, Network Rail Route Managing Director added: “The redevelopment of Birmingham New Street will transform the experience for the thousands of passengers who use the station every day and allow it to handle the ever increasing numbers of people who want to use the railways.”

“This investment in our transport infrastructure will also give John Lewis and Grand Central the opportunity to offer exciting new retail opportunities in the heart of the city, helping to stimulate regeneration and create one thousand new jobs. We’re delighted to be working alongside Birmingham City Council and John Lewis to open up those opportunities to the local community.”

Notes to Editors

Network Rail
The redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station and the Pallasades Shopping Centre into Grand Central Birmingham is backed by Birmingham City Council, Network Rail, the Department for Transport, Centro and Advantage West Midlands.
Network Rail is delivering the project alongside its delivery partner Mace. New Street station and the Pallasades Shopping Centre will remain open throughout the redevelopment.

Upon completion, the redevelopment of New Street station and the Pallasades Shopping Centre will deliver:

Space to accommodate passenger growth: the new concourse will be three and a half times bigger than at present and will be enclosed by a giant atrium which will flood the station concourse and shopping centre with natural light.

Better access for all: over 30 new escalators and 15 new public lifts will make it much easier to travel between the platforms and the concourse above.

Cutting edge design: a stunning new station façade will create a new landmark building in the heart of Birmingham.

A revitalised city centre: the new Grand Central Birmingham anchored by the John Lewis department store will offer new retail brands alongside quality places to eat and drink, cementing Birmingham’s reputation as one of the UK’s top retail destinations.

Regeneration and economic growth: new pedestrian links will open up the city centre, stimulating regeneration and creating new jobs. Network Rail has also been working with its delivery partner Mace and Birmingham City Council to open up job opportunities and apprenticeships to the local workforce during construction.

The John Lewis Partnership – The John Lewis Partnership operates 39 John Lewis shops across the UK (30 department stores and nine John Lewis at home), johnlewis.com and 288 Waitrose supermarkets. The business has annual gross sales of over £8.7bn. It is the UK’s largest example of worker co-ownership where all 81,000 staff are Partners in the business.

John Lewis – John Lewis, ‘Britain’s favourite electricals retailer 2012′* and ‘Best Multichannel Retailer 2012′ **, typically stocks more than 350,000 separate lines in its department stores. The website stocks over 200,000 products focused on the best of fashion, beauty, home and giftware and electrical items including online exclusives. johnlewis.com is consistently ranked one of the top online shopping destinations in the UK. (www.johnlewis.com). John Lewis Insurance offers a range of comprehensive insurance products – home, car, wedding and event, travel and pet insurance and life cover – delivering the usual values of expertise, trust and customer service expected from the John Lewis brand.
* Verdict Consumer Satisfaction Index, April 2012
** PayPal etail Awards 2012

You can follow John Lewis on the following social media channels:
www.johnlewis.com/twitter
www.johnlewis.com/facebook
www.johnlewis.com/youtube

Birmingham City Council
The Council’s Employment Access Team has successfully worked with a range of employers to support Birmingham residents into employment. Recent examples include:

• An Employment Charter and Jobs Pledge signed with Network Rail and its contractors for the construction phase of the development. To date 153 jobs, apprentices and graduate placements have been filled by Birmingham residents.

• Service Birmingham has signed an Employment Charter to deliver a rolling programme of recruitment campaigns. 12 campaigns have been completed to date, with 187 Birmingham residents successfully securing employment.

• The Library of Birmingham set a target of 250 jobs, 25 of which to be apprenticeships, through the Employment Access Partnership approach. To date, 267 Birmingham residents have been recruited and 83 of these are apprenticeships

Birmingham City Council recently won almost £30million from the Government from a scheme designed to preserve weekly collections of what is currently “black bag” waste.

The Department for Communities and Local Government told council officers that the city’s bid – based on introudcing wheeled bins for Birmingham’s households – had excelled in all areas.

In the video above, Cllr James McKay, Cabinet Member for a Green, Safe and Smart city, explains some of the key points of the bid, discusses the challenges that the city’s refuse collection service faces and addresses some concerns that have been raised by citizens.

Will the Recent DCLG announcement of funding mean we will have wheeled bins in Birmingham?
Yes. This matter was debated by the city council’s Cabinet on Monday 30th July 2012 and again on the 10th December 2012. The city council has been awarded over £29 million by Central Government to introduce a wheeled bin collection service across Birmingham.

Will the Council look at the experience of Councils who have already introduced wheeled bins?
Wheeled bins are used in over 82% of all councils in England and there is a great deal of experience and knowledge about what works and what doesn’t – Birmingham will learn from this previous experience. This isn’t a unique project and all of the major cities in England already use wheeled bins.

What size bin will I receive?
It will be essential to ensure that households receive an appropriate sized container for their needs. It is recognised that some households, for example larger households, would need larger containers. The council has not determined which size containers will be used but would look at what other local authorities do and determine how best to meet the needs of residents, and the council.

How many bins will I receive?
Up to 3 bins – one for waste, one for recycling and one for green waste (if required). We will be testing how the bins will be used in selected areas of the city. Adjustments may need to be made for individual property types and roads.

I don’t think my property is suitable for a wheeled bin
We appreciate that not all properties are suitable for a wheeled bin collection service. Following the models from other councils, these include some properties that:

• Have a steep slope / many steps between the house and the street where it would be difficult to move a wheeled bin up or down
• Have no access or very limited access to the rear of the property, such as in some types of terraced housing
• Have no ground floor access, such as flats above shops and some maisonettes.

In these circumstances, other councils make alternative arrangements such as retaining the collection system that was previously used.

What about elderly or disabled residents how will they manage?
We recognise that some residents would find it difficult or impossible to move a wheeled bin, such as a wheelchair user, and we will make alternative arrangements either through the provision of an ‘assisted’ service or again, through providing a different type of collection service that meets the households needs.

Why are we changing black sacks if it already works well?
Whilst we appreciate your view that the current black sack system works perfectly well, independent research has shown that where a wheeled bin system has been introduced, recycling rates have increased. Birmingham needs to reduce the amount of waste that we produce and to reuse and recycle more. Furthermore the current system causes litter due to bags being ripped open by rodents, other animals and birds with the contents strewn about the street.

When will the bins be introduced?
The bid to the DCLG outlined a 2 to 3 year timetable for the full procurement and roll-out of the bins. We intend to implement a pilot in spring 2013 in two wards looking at different options. The wards to be selected will be determined shortly.

Will my collection day change?
It is possible when wheeled bins are rolled-out that collection days may change, however it is not possible at this stage to give an indication of what those changes could be. All changes to days would be kept to a minimum.

Will wheeled bins result in redundancies?
No. It is anticipated the introduction will not cause job losses.

Times are tough. Couldn’t you be spending this on something more worthwhile?
The grant funding that the city council has been successful in obtaining from the DCLG is specifically awarded to enable the city to maintain weekly collections of residual waste. This funding cannot be used for other purposes.

I don’t have a Nectar card and want to support local businesses. What use is the incentive scheme going to be for me?
A participation-based incentive scheme was recently piloted with Nectar, which was successful in improving recycling levels in the pilot areas by around 9%. The proposed roll-out of an incentivisation scheme across the whole of Birmingham will be fully considered before implementation and a range of options and service providers will be considered for the full roll-out.

I live in a Conservation Area. You simply cannot impose wheeled bins on areas that have such a rich heritage. I hope that you will exempt us from these eyesores.
Each area will be looked at individually to see whether it will be suitable for wheeled bins. The improvements to waste collection are expected to improve the tidiness of the streets in Birmingham and reduce the amount of litter which is currently attributable to the existing bagged residual and box recycling collections.

Will you be conducting a survey?
We will ensure that there is community involvement and engagement and will harness views through a wide range of organisations and forums including an on-line survey for all residents and consultation through District Committees.

Can I have a composter, rather than a green waste bin? It would save you the collection cost, and help me produce compost for my garden!
This is a good idea and will be put forward and considered as part of the implementation plan.

Who is responsible for keeping the bins clean?
The experience of other local authorities who have implemented this type of collection methodology is that residents place bagged waste into the wheeled bins, and therefore there is minimal ongoing need to clean. If cleaning is required then it is the resident’s responsibility to undertake this.

Why are you not proposing to take food waste separately?
The council is currently considering the feasibility of a separate food waste collection. In the future it may also be possible to co-collect food waste with garden waste and the 3 bin proposed would support this method of collection. This is not part of the funding received as part of the DCLG bid. A separate consultation with residents would be undertaken if this option was considered further.

For more media information please contact Kris Kowalewski on 0121 303 3621

A landmark moment in Birmingham City Council’s use of technology will be reached when Planning Committee members begin to officially use tablet computers to enable the electronic running of Planning Committee.

The committee is set to start a six month trial at its November 22 meeting, initially using the machines in parallel with paper copies of agendas – before discarding with the hard copies of reports and agendas entirely in the new year.

Figures compiled for the scheme’s business case show that the 21 tablets (15 for committee members, six for officers), will be paid for inside three years, thanks to the savings their use will generate.

Cllr Mike Sharpe, Chairman of the Planning Committee, said: “It would be very easy for things to stand still because they have always been done a certain way.

“But the Planning Committee is one of the main stages for council business, has a busy agenda and the printing costs of all the paperwork mean it is no longer sensible or sustainable to avoid the benefits that technology offer.”

Waheed Nazir, Director of Planning and Regeneration, added: “The tablets will enable easy viewing and annotation of agendas and will provide a platform for more interactive reports in the future.

“It will also make our work more agile and efficient and is a good example of how modernisation and business transformation can be adopted to ensure that we are a smart city using new technologies.

“This gives us a great opportunity to explore whether iPads are something the rest of the council could benefit from. If this works, the savings on a council-wide basis would be a welcome boost at a time when we need to make significant reductions to our budgets, while continuing to deliver first-rate services.”

Ends

Notes to editors

The initial cost of rolling out the tablet devices for the planning committee is £11,781 with support costs of £5,250 in future years.

Annual savings are projected at £10,574. Over the five year business case, the project would break even in year three, and subsequent net savings of £5,324 per year would then be achieved.

The savings come from not printing hard copies of agendas, the removal of duplicate back office paper-based systems etc

For more media information please contact Kris Kowalewski on 0121 303 3621

Council Leader Sir Albert Bore has spoken ahead of the opening of this year’s Frankfurt Christmas Market in the city centre later today (November 15) after inspecting stalls this morning.

The market, which began in 2001, has grown over the years and will have 190 stalls in 2012. Of these the Birmingham Frankfurt Market will have 99 stalls, while Birmingham’s Christmas Craft Market will have 91 stalls.

Figures from previous years show the market has an associated spend of £90million and, on average, attracts three million visitors every year.

Both markets will be open daily from 10am-9pm until December 22.

Public health bosses in Birmingham have warned that many people who are in at-risk groups are neglecting to have the flu jab this year.

Figures for 2012 show that 47.3 per cent of over-65s across Birmingham have so far had the jab this year, compared to 55.2 per cent last year.

The uptake for people aged six months to 64 years with underlying medical conditions (asthma, diabetes, heart problems etc) is 29.5 per cent, compared to 32.6 per cent last year.

Now Birmingham City Council Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, Cllr Steve Bedser, and the city’s new Director of Public Health, Dr Adrian Phillips, are urging at risk groups to have the flu jab.

The jab is available now from GP surgeries and is free on the NHS to eligible people (see list below) to keep them safe during winter.

With carers, health and social care staff also encouraged to get a jab to protect themselves and those around them, Birmingham City Council has this year offered all frontline social care staff a free jab.

Cllr Bedser, who was given his flu jab at The Kenrick Centre in Harborne on Wednesday (7 November), said: “The simple message for anyone at risk in Birmingham is that it’s not too late to have the flu jab this winter.

“Flu can increase the risk of developing more serious illnesses such as bronchitis and pneumonia, and can make existing conditions much worse. Flu can knock you off your feet and make it hard to look after the kids or go to work. In the most serious cases, seasonal flu might land you in hospital – it can even be a killer.

“If you’re in any of the ’at risk’ groups, the flu jab is completely free and is a safe way of protecting you and your family in a matter of minutes.”

The best time to be vaccinated is at the start of the flu season from October to early November, so it’s good to get in early and get flu safe in time for the winter.

Simply contact your GP to arrange a convenient appointment and get your jab. It’s quick, safe and free for those most at risk from the virus.

Public health officials in Birmingham are keen to dispel many of the myths surrounding the flu jab.

The facts

• The flu jab can’t give you flu
• The flu jab is perfectly safe
• The flu virus changes, so you need a flu jab every year If you’re pregnant, the flu jab doesn’t harm your unborn baby. In fact it can protect your baby from flu for the first few months of life
• The flu jab also protects against swine flu
• The flu jab isn’t just for older people – pregnant women, those with health conditions, carers, and those with weakened immunity should all get the jab
• The flu jab protects people of all ages
• Flu isn’t just a cold, it can be a really serious illness

Dr Phillips added: “There are lots of myths surrounding the flu jab but they are exactly that: myths. In particular, we know pregnant women have concerns about the effect the flu vaccine could have on their unborn child, as well as the threat of catching the flu themselves.

“But I want to reassure people that the seasonal flu vaccine is safe, and has been given routinely to pregnant women in the US and in other European countries for many years.

“Research shows that the jab is safe for mother and baby and can be given at any stage of pregnancy. The earlier you have the vaccine the better as it means you will be protected for the whole winter. Remember that flu can lay you low for a couple of weeks and make it really difficult to look after your children or go to work – when it’s so easy to avoid with a quick jab it’s the last thing you need when you’re pregnant.”

ENDS

For more information contact Geoff Coleman on 0121 303 3501

Notes to editors

Flu vaccinations are currently offered free of charge to the following ‘at risk’ groups:

• People aged 65 years or over (including those becoming age 65 years by 31 March 2013).
• All pregnant women (including those women who become pregnant during the flu season).
• People with serious medical conditions such as:
  • chronic (long-term) respiratory disease, such as
    severe asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or bronchitis
  • chronic heart disease, such as heart failure
  • chronic kidney disease at stage 3, 4 or 5
  • chronic liver disease
  • chronic neurological disease, such as Parkinson’s disease or motor neurone disease
  • diabetes
  • a weakened immune system due to disease (such as HIV/AIDS) or treatment (such as cancer treatment)
• People living in long stay residential care homes or other long-stay care facilities where rapid spread is likely to follow introduction of infection and cause high morbidity and mortality. This does not include, for instance, prisons, young offender institutions, or university halls of residence

• People who are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an older or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill

Ask Albert – join Sir Albert Bore for a live budget webchat.

Difficult Financial Outlook

Birmingham City Council will be opening the consultation for the 2013/14 Budget next month against a backdrop of greater than previously notified grant reduction from national government.

The council’s grant from the Government has already dropped by £140m, 14% in cash terms, in just two years. Next year the council is forecasting further grant cuts of at least 6% (£52m) but this situation could be worse. The Government is introducing significant levels of uncertainty and instability at a very late stage in local authorities planning cycle. For instance, the Government intends to transfer more responsibilities from the council to schools but is taking more money off the council than is currently spent on these services. So the grant reductions could be significantly more.

If our funding from Government Revenue Support Grant were to have increased in line with inflation we would only have needed to make budget cuts of £16m each year over the six year period 2010/11 – 2016/17 – a total of £96m compared with £600m now forecast.

Over a six-year period from 2010/11 to 2016/17, the forecast total Government grant will reduce by £332m. At the same time, we will need to fund unavoidable cost increases due to the effects of inflation, the changing basic needs of our population, changes in legislation and financing costs. These are expected to cost £273m extra by the end of 2016/17, meaning that we will have to make savings of over £600m or more by that time – that’s around 48% of the total spending over which the council has control.

The timing of these reductions is shown in the table below.

Total cumulative savings requirements to 2016/17.

* The figures for these years are estimates.

We have an immediate challenge for next year 2013/14 to save around £120m of the £600m total.

To meet this level of challenge we will take a strategic approach. The need for this was recognised in the Independent Finance Review which said:

“We believe that the council should decide not only which services, delivering which priority outcomes, will take precedence in council spending, but also clarify explicitly which current services will not have priority status and which will be de-commissioned in the face of the significant budget cuts it faces.”

Forecasts

We are doing our best to ensure that our forecasts are as accurate as they can be. The Independent Review has indicated that our assumptions made regarding the continuing reduction of government grant “appear to be well judged”.

They are also consistent with national forecasts. The Local Government Association (LGA, 2012) has made a projection of future local government spending against future spending needs, demonstrating that this is a national problem not confined to Birmingham.
“A gap opens out in 2012/13 and then continues to widen every year through to 2019/20. The overall funding gap starts at about £1.4 billion in 2013/14 in cash and amounts to over £16.5 billion in 2019/20.” (LGA, 2012, p.8).
Funding Reductions

The disproportionate impact of grants reductions on Birmingham can be demonstrated using the Government’s own preferred measure of “spending power”, the total amount a council receives from general Government Grants and Council Tax income. For Birmingham this has reduced by 11% over the last two years, compared to the national average reduction of 7.7%.

Urban areas such as Birmingham, with high levels of need and lower than average ability to raise income through Council Tax have been treated less favourably than more affluent areas. The recent Independent Review
qualifies this statement –

“the cuts in grants between 2009?10 and 2011?12 have generally meant that, across England, high-spending local authorities, which are typically relatively grant dependent, have seen larger cuts to their overall spending power than lower-spending authorities, and have therefore had to make larger spending cuts (both in absolute and in percentage terms)” (IFS, 2012, p.131).

To give some relevant examples for 2011/12:

If Birmingham had received the average spending reduction in 2011-12 of 4.5% we would have received £48m more in that year alone.

Council Tax

Over recent years the council has had a policy of low council tax increases. While this has kept bills down to households, it means that the council now has less council tax income available to fund its services than the other core cities.

The council is considering what the council tax should be for 2013/14 but it has very little leeway. It may also be surprising to note that council tax at present levels for 2013/14 only contributes £256m of the council’s total income, and any 1% increase represents around £2.6m. In the context of the budget savings required this is a limited amount.

Its long term financial plan agreed by the council in February 2012 assumes a 1.9% increase, but under a recent Government announcement, if it proposed to increase its council tax element by more than 1.66% there would need to be a local referendum (a 1.66% increase would give a £0.6m shortfall against the plan). Alternatively, it might accept a one year Government Grant equivalent to 1% but this would mean that it lost £2.3m next year against its plans, and more in future years.

Again the Independent Financial Review recognised this issue and said: “Birmingham has increased council tax less rapidly than the average metropolitan district. Although this is a political decision, it does appear as though a rise in council tax should at least be considered as a way of maximising income and offsetting the reductions in central government funding, in the medium term, if not in the short term”.

We have already delivered and planned huge savings.

BCC has already implemented a substantial savings plan in order to live within its current level of resources. By 2012/13 we will have delivered £275m of general fund savings with another £200m across the next two years followed with a further cut in excess of £100m over the following two years.

Even before the current spending reductions, the City Council had been making significant efficiency savings every year for several years and our Business Transformation programme represents a leading example of how modernisation can lead to savings of many hundreds of millions of pounds over time. This work is continuing, but we are now looking ahead to the pressures of the next few years.

Priorities for Birmingham

In February 2013 Birmingham City Council will set a budget for 2013/14 that makes the necessary tough decisions whilst prioritising Economic Growth and adopts the following principles:-

• Safeguarding the most vulnerable
• Putting fairness at the heart of our decision making
• Emphasises early intervention, to prevent problems occurring
• A smart city – using new technologies

The cuts to date have not been easy, and the need to significantly reduce expenditure remains. The council has reached a point where efficiency and transformational savings are becoming even more difficult but there is still a need to significantly reduce expenditure further in order to operate within the constraints of the government cuts and meet the rising social demand created through unemployment, skills shortage and housing needs.

The Way Forward
As part of ongoing dialogue with the people of Birmingham, the council invites the views of the public on the 2013/14 budget savings proposals in November and December. We want as many people as possible to have their say on the budget that affects their city.
We take our duty of care to citizens in the city seriously and we are having to care for our elderly and protect our children in the face of funding reductions. The extent of the future financial challenge facing Birmingham will change the landscape of local government not only in Birmingham but nationally – we will have to decommission a number of services.
To continue to provide priority services for our residents, Birmingham City Council will have to adapt and make changes to how services are run. We have already started our strategic planning for this for 2014/15 and onwards. We will engage with the public on this work in the New Year, after the 2013/14 Budget has been determined. The challenges that we, the council and the public, will need to consider going forward include:

• Changing the expectations of what the council will provide directly and what might fall to other agencies and to schools
• Focussing resources on the city’s top priority outcomes;
• Fundamentally changing how public services are organised
• Increasing citizen responsibility
• Reducing demand
• Identifying new approaches to funding

Birmingham City Council
October 2012

Leader of Birmingham City Council, Sir Albert Bore, and Ammo Talwar of Punch Records share their views.

The event continues today. See http://birminghamculture.org/arts-culture-summit-2012/arts-culture-summit-2012 for more details and follow the #brumarts hashtag on Twitter.